Taylor Swift kicked off her performance live from the Microsoft Theater in LA at the 2019 American Music Awards with a strong statement.

The singer-songwriter was honored at the ceremony as artist of the decade. She sang a medley of her most popular hits — including "Love Story," "I Knew You Were Trouble," and "Shake It Off" — but kicked off her performance with a relatively obscure song from her most recent album, "The Man."

"I'm so sick of running as fast as I can / Wondering if I'd get there quicker if I was a man / And I'm so sick of them coming at me again / 'Cause if I was a man, then I'd be the man," she sings in the chorus.

Borchetta founded Swift's former label Big Machine Records, which owns the masters of Swift's songs recorded before she made the switch to Universal Music Group last year. Braun acquired Big Machine Records earlier this year, along with a back catalog of Swift's music — an acquisition she vehemently opposed and spoke out against.

"I feel very strongly that sharing what is happening to me could change the awareness level for other artists and potentially help them avoid a similar fate," she wrote. "The message being sent to me is very clear. Basically, be a good little girl and shut up. Or you'll be punished."

Fans also noticed that Swift took the stage for her AMAs performance wearing a white shirt, perhaps intended to look like a prison uniform, with the titles of her first six albums emblazoned on it — save for her most recent album, "Lover," which she owns the full rights to.